Influence of a Polyimide Surface Layer on the Piezoelectric Response of Lead–Zirconate–Titanate Cosmic Dust Detector

The influence of a thermal reflector on the sensitivity of a lead–zirconate–titanate element is studied by bombarding the element with hypervelocity microparticles. The reflector is a 60-µm-thick layer made of polyimide resin that coats the surface of the element. By applying the fast Fourier transform method to data analysis, impact information is obtained through the fundamental resonant component. As a result, the sensitivity of the element is considerably reduced by the reflector. In addition, it is found that the sensitivity is substantially position-independent.